Invitation

Alpha Zayne Steele

Zayne was pleased when he scored an invitation to a ball that Alpha Thornton was throwing for some long-lost daughter of his or whatever, never mind that.

What was important was the perfect opportunity to corner Alpha Thornton and try to get him to listen to reason. Because the man was not returning his calls.

And by scored, he means intercepted.

About a week ago, they picked up chatter about some grand affair from the Thorntons, which had piqued Zayne's interest. He had immediately sent out willing scouts to investigate the scenery and setting.

And by 'investigate the scenery,' he meant to get their hands on an invite to this shindig.

His team had sussed out what the chatter was about, then set out on their journey to the location. For this job, though, they had to travel overseas.

As luck would have it, they came upon a mail van full of invitations leaving Thornton's compound.

The team had managed to follow the van in their rental and got to steal a few invitations skillfully along the way when the driver went to use the washroom at the gas station after following for hours.

Nevertheless, it was another breakthrough Alpha Zayne had been waiting for. A moment of Thornton's time.

This was literally the extinction of the werewolf kind they were facing. It was not that bad. YET. But why wait until it gets out of hand or too late? No, they need to strike now.

Besides, this had been going on for years, and Aragorn planned to make Alpha Thornton listen if he had to.

Alpha Thornton had spared no expense on these invitations, Zayne had observed, and there were two types of boxes, and Zayne's men had grabbed a few of each.

As it turned out, one was for a female guest and the other for a male. The female box consisted of the invitation along with a breakout set, a wine subscription card, a wine preservation system, a gift card to a day spa, an air purifier, a temperature control ceramic mug, and a gym membership for one year.

For the men, it was a smart wallet, a wine subscription card, a wine preservation system, a gift card for a day at the barber's, a temperature control ceramic mug, and a gym membership for one year.

All his businesses, Zayne was sure, he had scoffed.

Nevertheless, they had ensured all except one got their invites. Zayne kept one that was for a male and a guest.

The plan was for Mekhi to stay behind and man the fort while he and Rafael caught a flight to TL.

Once they got into the city, they would lay low, checking into a hotel until it was time to slip into the ball. Zayne and Rafael would keep their eyes on Alpha Thornton, and the moment he stepped away and would be alone, Zayne planned to simply have a few words with the man.

Jovi had backed up all their data and evidence gathered thus far on a USB that he planned to slip to him.

Zayne did not care about this ball or any other inconveniences. All he wanted was a moment of Alpha Thornton's time to explain himself clearly while providing the evidence in hopes of Alpha Thornton getting involved and lending a helping hand.

Nevertheless, their flight was the red-eye tonight. They would arrive by two pm on Saturday afternoon.

"Goddess, I hope this man's heart softened as he found his daughter because I need his resources." Zayne had said before leaving Mekhi to head home.

It was time to pack and head out soon after to check-in.

Zayne even hoped to get at least an hour of sleep. He had not been sleeping well.

Last week Zayne had gone round and round on the meaning of his dream, coming up with all sorts of conclusions. However, with the dream recurring, he was more inclined now to believe it was about the white wolf and nothing else.

Not Leandra, not Jane Doe.

It was about the white wolf that much he was convinced of, except that was it. He had yet to learn what it meant or what he was to look for or even do.

Even in the dream, it was getting torturous for him, unable to reach farther than taking that step toward the white wolf in human form. Zayne would always wake up then.

And now the weird need and yearning were tenfold; worse yet, he had no idea what was happening to him. To top things off, he felt the urge to find the Divine Being of a white wolf that took his breath away.

And so the real issue, the real problem that plagued Zayne, was that he had no idea where to start looking.

It was literally a needle in a haystack. Zayne vowed to use all his spare time to investigate this dream. He would find her if it was the last thing he did.

Maybe he would talk to a witch when he returned from his trip because right now he had a flight to catch soon.

Two Weeks Later

Aubrianne Ivanov

Aubrianne woke up on this beautiful Friday morning, removed the duvet from over her, stretched, and sighed contently.

She remained there, recalling the past two weeks leading to her big day tomorrow. The day that all this fuss and bustle of the past two weeks was about.

The Saturday after the dinner passed very quietly. Aubrianne had done some cleaning when she woke up and spent the rest of the day relaxing and reading her mother's diary.

Jada only came home on Sunday when Shawn was expected to arrive. She had spent the weekend with Mr. Grey.

Sunday, when Shawn arrived, it was like they had never separated, the trio had picked up right where they left off, and Jada and Aubrianne filled Shawn in on all the happenings.

Aubrianne had put together all his favorite eats and drinks for them to enjoy. They had spent that evening relaxing by the pool and catching up.

Shawn and Aubrianne imprinted as soon as he got there.

Her Wolf warrior, who was meant to be by her side till the end of her days.

By the time Monday came around, Shawn was ready to put his investigative days to some good use. Before Shawn started working at Triple X, he and his human best friend and partner ran a Private Investigative Agency.

However, when his partner died from a heart attack, he lost the will to continue. It was not the same without his partner in crime. So he secured a job at Triple X while doing a little freelance work on the side.

This was for existing clients. He did not take on any new clients.

On Monday morning, Shawn had jumped right into tracking and locating Ron while Aubrianne and Jada headed to Theodore Claude Thornton and Associates.

Aubrianne and Jada had gotten up, dressed, and headed to TCTA for Aubrianne's work and Jada's interview as planned.

This is what Aubrianne came here for. Even though her circumstances changed, she would not.

She had a goal in mind, and she was heading toward that goal.

Reaching the colossal building, Aubrianne had to take a moment to take it all in. She had only passed here a few times, but now she was entering the building, and she was enthusiastic.

This was it. This was the beginning of her career. This is what she had been working so hard to achieve, her internship.

She had squealed in the elevator wanting to burst Jada's eardrums with her excitement, and poor Jada simply cheered her on.

However, on reaching her floor, what she met surprised her. It was clear no one was expecting her to show up today. The receptionist looked surprised to see her and confused at the same time.

She could not believe her father, or was it, Mr. Grey? Who was she to blame for this?

Right now, she did not know who to blame, and as she was about to pull out her phone to contact her father, Daniel walked in.

"What is going on? The receptionist at the desk said my information was pulled, and all they saw was Jada's interview for Mr. Grey's assistant." Aubrianne attacked Daniel right away.

While Jada continued to sit comfortably on the couch in the reception area, thinking about riding Ivan's D while he sat at his desk.

This was the exact reason why she did not bother adorning any undies.

Eyes twinkling with mischief, Daniel responded, "Good morning to you, and how was your weekend?" Daniel asked Aubrianne, amused at her, and he quickly nodded at Jada but was unsure if she acknowledged.

Yea, Aubrianne was sort of hiding from Daniel over this weekend because she knew he had something he wanted to say.

If she was to believe her wolf, Leia, then Aubrianne knew she would have to turn him down, and, again, she did not know how he would react, and selfishly, she did not want to lose him.